Paris Hilton says that she ‘cried’ when she realised that she’d been featured on the cover of Playboy magazine without her knowledge.
You see, Hilton was in the news at the time because of her sex tape, which was released by her ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon, and had been asked in the past by Playboy head honcho Hugh Hefner whether she’d appear.
After she turned it down, Hilton claims he created an award to give her so that the use of pictures of her would be OK without her consenting.
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The 42-year-old has just released a book titled Paris: The Memoir, in which she says she turned down seven figures from Hefner to feature in the magazine.
She explained: "Hef really wanted me to do a Playboy cover,
"He kept offering me more and more money, saying I wouldn't have to be totally naked, just topless.
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“And then saying, I didn't have to be topless, just sheer.
“And then saying I could wear whatever lingerie I wanted.
"Even when he offered seven figures, I turned it down, because I knew my mom would lose her mind, and because I had already been branded as a slut after the sex tape.
"I felt like a Playboy pictorial would just cement that in people's minds."
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Back in 2000, Hilton was living with two Playboy bunnies in Los Angeles and had considered that the idea of shooting for the magazine ‘would be awesome’.
Again, thinking of her mother – who labelled the idea ‘so trashy’ – she didn’t do it.
But, four years later she was on the cover.
"No one was terribly surprised to see me on the cover of Playboy," she said.
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“Except me.
“I was surprised, and not in a good way.
"Hef had 'honored' me with the Sex Star of the Year Award, which means they can claim it's 'news' and not a pictorial.
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"He got a picture from an old test shoot with a woman photographer who was really great. It's kind of an old-school pinup-girl vibe: red bustier and heels, black fishnets, very little actual skin — nothing as sexy as the Carl's Jr. shoot.
"I imagine it sold well because people expected to see me naked inside the magazine.
"Surprise, suckers. They got nothing. Same as me."
After the fact, Hilton said that he ‘parents were p***ed, and I cried’.
Ultimately though, they didn’t go after Hefner.
“None of us confronted him,” she said.
“Because you just didn’t do that.”
Paris: The Memoir is out now.
A Playboy spokesperson said: "While the current management does not know what occurred surrounding that cover, the claim does not reflect our values nor how the company operates today.
"Playboy today is a global lifestyle brand with a variety of consumer products and digital offerings.
"We encourage you to visit Playboy.com to learn more about today’s reimagined Playboy brand.”
Topics: Celebrity, US News, Paris Hilton
Tom Wood